Artificial rock with protective recess

ABSTRACT

An artificial rock which is mountable on a climbing wall has a recess formed in therein. The recess is bound by a pair of lateral surfaces which entirely or in sections may be downwardly and inwardly tapered and/or parallel to one another. The recess is configured to receive a safety device such as a piton or a camming device to support various climbing equipment with a rope threaded thereon to provide a safety feature for climbers and to allow climbers to practice with the climbing equipment. When tapered, the recess is preferably bounded by tapered lateral surfaces which angle in mating fashion with respective tapered surfaces of a piton. The recess may be bounded by a rear surface which tapers downwardly and forwardly whereby the recess accommodates various sizes of pitons therein.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/656,200 filed Feb. 25, 2005; the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates generally to equipment used for mountain climbingand rock climbing. More particularly, the invention relates to climbingwalls and the artificial rocks used thereon. Specifically, the inventionrelates to such an artificial rock having a recess formed therein forreceiving a safety device such as a piton or a camming device.

2. Background Information

Mountain and rock climbing over the last several decades have become anincreasingly widespread sport. The sport is broadly divided into freeclimbing and climbing with ropes and related equipment. Due to thepopularity of the sport, the practice of rock climbing indoors hasbecome widespread with the advent of climbing walls using artificiallyformed gripping surfaces, such as artificial rocks which are attached towalls formed of any suitable material. Such artificial rocks have beenused broadly within the free climbing aspect of the sport althoughsafety ropes suspended from above are typically attached to climbers asthey practice this free climbing style. However, the other aspect ofclimbing has yet to be represented in the artificial industry, that is,wherein climbers use ropes and related equipment to suspend themselvesor protect themselves from falling by inserting a structure known as apiton or other safety device into a crevice of a rock. Thus, there is aneed to provide a climbing wall on which climbers may practice theirtrade using pitons, ropes and related equipment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an artificial rock for use with aclimbing wall, the rock comprising a first rigid wall having a firstlateral surface; a second rigid wall which is adjacent and fixed withrespect to the first wall and which has a second lateral surface whichgenerally faces the first lateral surface; wherein the rock has a backadapted to face the climbing wall when mounted thereon; wherein thefirst and second lateral surfaces define therebetween a forward openingrecess adapted to receive a safety device therein for supportingclimbing equipment; and wherein the rock has sufficient strength tosupport a weight of a climber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a climbing wall in which a firstembodiment of the artificial rock of the present invention is usedshowing a climber in diagrammatic form.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the artificialrock.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the first embodiment of theartificial rock.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the first embodiment of the artificialrock.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the first embodiment of theartificial rock mounted on a wall with a piton inserted within therecess of the rock and other climbing equipment hanging from the piton.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of FIG. 6 which is similar toFIG. 5 and shows the piton seated within the recess of the artificialrock.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the first embodiment of theartificial rock similar to FIG. 6 but showing a larger size piton withinthe recess of the artificial rock.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 and shows a piton in the recess of theartificial rock which is smaller than the other pitons shown in FIG. 6and FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of theartificial rock of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of a third embodiment of theartificial rock of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a front elevational view of a fourth embodiment of theartificial rock of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on line 15-15 of FIG. 14.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the artificial rock of the present invention isindicated generally at 10 in FIGS. 1-4; a second embodiment of theartificial rock is indicated generally at 100 in FIGS. 10-11; a thirdembodiment of the artificial rock is indicated generally at 200 in FIGS.12-13; and a fourth embodiment of the artificial rock is indicatedgenerally at 300 in FIGS. 14-15. Artificial rock 10 is shown in FIG. 1mounted on a climbing wall 12 being used by a climber 14. In particular,one of artificial rocks 10 is shown supporting climbing supportequipment 16 with a climbing rope 18 slidingly mounted thereon with rope18 secured to climber 14.

In accordance with the invention and with reference to FIGS. 2-4, rock10 is a rigid and substantially solid structure or body defining acentral vertically elongated recess 20 therein which generally tapersdownwardly and inwardly. Rock 10 is preferably formed as an integralone-piece member. Rock 10 has a top 22, a bottom 24, a front 26, a back28 and first and second sides 30 and 32 in opposed relation to oneanother. Each of top 22, bottom 24, front 26, back 28, first side 30 andsecond side 32 are substantially flat surfaces. Each of top 22 andbottom 24 is substantially horizontally oriented while each of front 26and back 28 are substantially vertically oriented. Each of first andsecond sides 30 and 32 taper downwardly and inwardly (FIG. 3) withrespect to a vertical plane 34 disposed therebetween whereby top 22 hasa width W1 adjacent back 28 which is wider than a width W2 of bottom 24adjacent back 28. Each of first side 30 and second side 32 also tapersforwardly and inwardly (FIG. 4) with respect to vertical plane 34. Rock10 has a thickness T1 (FIG. 5) which is suitable to provide sufficientstructural strength to rock 10 for supporting the weight of a climberthereon. In addition, thickness T1 allows the flat upper surface of top22 to be sufficiently large for a climber to grasp by hand or upon whicha climber may stand so that rock 10 may serve in part as a standardartificial rock for use on a climbing wall. Rock 10 defines a pair ofmounting holes 36 disposed on opposed sides of recess 20 and extendingfrom front 26 to back 28. Each hole 36 is a counterbore hole and thushas a narrower section 38 (FIG. 4) which communicates with back 28 and awider section 40 which communicates with a narrow sections 38 and front26.

Recess 20 extends in a continuous manner from top 22 to bottom 24 andthus is upwardly opening at top 22 and downwardly opening at bottom 24.Each of rock 10 and recess 20 has a length which is the same as theother, as represented at L in FIG. 5. Recess 20 opens forwardly at front26 along its entire length L. Recess 20 is bounded by first and secondopposed lateral surfaces 42 and 44 and by a rear surface 46. Each offirst and second lateral surfaces 42 and 44 taper inwardly anddownwardly with respect to vertical plane 34 which is disposed centrallytherebetween whereby artificial rock is bilaterally symmetrical withregard to plane 34. Recess 20 has an upper width W3 (FIG. 3) at top 22of rock 10 and a lower width W4 (FIG. 4)at bottom 24 of rock 10 wherebywidth W4 is smaller than width W3. Each of surfaces 42 and 44 issubstantially flat, whereby each surface 42 and 44 has constant taperalong length L of recess 20. Although the angle of taper may vary, apreferred angle of taper A (FIG. 3) between surfaces 42 and 44 typicallyranges from 8.0° to 14.0° (eight to fourteen degrees), more preferablyfrom 9.0° to 12.0° (nine to twelve degrees) and most preferably isapproximately 11.0° (eleven degrees). Likewise, a preferred angle B(FIG. 3) between vertical plane 34 and each of surfaces 42 and 44 isapproximately 5.5° (five and a half degrees). Rear surface 46 tapersdownwardly and forwardly. More particularly, rear surface 46 issubstantially flat and thus has a constant taper from top 22 to bottom24 of rock 10 to form an angle C (FIG. 5) with respect to a secondvertical plane 48 which is perpendicular to first vertical plane 34.While angle C may vary, it is preferably approximately 11.0° (elevendegrees). At bottom 24 of rock 10, recess 20 has a depth D1 (FIG. 5)extending from front 26 of rock 10 to rear surface 46.

Rock 10 may be thought of as including a pair of laterally spaced andrelatively thick walls 50A and 50B which are separated by recess 20 andrespectively include first and second lateral surfaces 42 and 44, withwalls 50A and 50B joined by a rear bridge 52 which includes rear surface46. Rear bridge 52 has an upper thickness T2 (FIG. 5) at top 22 and alower thickness T3 (FIG. 5) at bottom 24 which is greater than thicknessT2. While the relative sizes of thickness T1, T2 and T3 may vary,thickness T2 of the present embodiment is approximately ⅕ of thicknessT1 and thickness T3 is approximately ¾ of thickness T1. Rear bridge 52is configured to provide as much structural strength to rock 10 aspossible while also permitting recess 20 to appropriately receivevarious size pitons therein whereby larger pitons may be accommodated inthe upper portions of recess 20 while smaller pitons may be accommodatedin the lower portions of recess 20, as detailed further below.

In use and with reference to FIG. 6, rock 10 is mounted on climbing wall12 utilizing fasteners such as threaded fasteners 54 extendingrespectively through mounting holes 36. Climber 14 mounts climbingsupport equipment 16 via recess 20 in rock 10 in order to provide asafety feature as the climber climbs upwardly of rock 10. Moreparticularly, support climbing equipment 16 includes a passive safetydevice in the form of a piton 56 with a cable 58 threaded through holes(not shown) formed in the piton whereby cable 58 forms a closed loop(FIG. 7). Equipment 16 further includes a first carabiner 60 and asecond carabiner 62 joined by a connecting strip 64. As is well known inthe art, each carabiner 60 and 62 has pivotable arm 66 which pivots asindicated by arrow A between a closed position shown in solid lines andan open position shown in dashed lines of second carabiner 62.Typically, the pivotable arm 66 is spring-biased towards the closedposition although not all carabiners are spring-biased in this fashion.First carabiner 60 is mounted in a loop to loop fashion on cable 58 andhangs downwardly therefrom. Strap 64 is mounted on first carabiner 60and hangs downwardly therefrom with second carabiner 62 mounted on strap64 and hanging downwardly therefrom. In standard fashion, rope 18 ismoved as indicated at arrow B to move arm 66B into the open position inorder to loop rope 18 through second carabiner 62. Arm 66B moves back tothe closed position whereby rope 18 is securely looped through carabiner62. Rope 18 freely slides through the opening in carabiner 62 to allowthe climber to move up and down the wall without restriction. In casethe climber falls, rock 10, via piton 56, the other support equipment 16and rope 18, will support the climber to limit the distance fallen.

To use support equipment 16 with rock 10, piton 56 is inserted intorecess 20 and moves downwardly as indicated at arrow C in order to wedgein between first and second lateral surfaces 42 and 44 whereby supportequipment 16 supported by rock 10 with piton 56 engaging surfaces 42 and44. Although not required, it is preferred that lateral surfaces 42 and44 are configured to mate with downwardly and inwardly tapered opposedside surfaces 68 and 70 of piton 56. With piton 56 firmly wedged orseated within recess 20, cable 58 hangs downwardly therefrom and passesthrough a lower portion of recess 20 at bottom 24 thereof, the lowerportion having depth D1 (FIG. 5). The fact that recess 20 at bottom 24extends rearwardly from front 26 of rock 10 allows cable 58 to hangsubstantially vertically downwardly from piton 56 as shown in FIG. 7. Ifrecess 20 did not extend rearwardly from front 26 at bottom 24, cable 58would angle downwardly and forwardly from piton 56 in order to passbeyond bottom 24 of rock 10, a configuration which would tend to pullpiton 56 forward and out of recess 20. While it is not required thatcable 58 be able to hang vertically downward from piton 56 within recess20, it is preferred that recess 20 be configured so that cable 58 willnot angle forwardly from piton 56 to a degree that would tend to pullpiton 56 out of recess 20.

FIG. 8 shows artificial rock 10 in use with another piton 72 which islarger than piton 56. Thus, piton 72 is seated within recess 20 at aposition which is higher than the position at which piton 56 is seatedwithin recess 20. FIG. 9 likewise shows another piton 74 which issmaller than either of pitons 56 and 72 so that piton 74 is seatedwithin recess 20 at a position which is lower than that of piton 56within recess 20. Thus, it is evident that rock 10 may be used with avariety of pitons of different sizes.

Artificial rock 100 (FIGS. 10-11) is similar to rock 10 except that therecess formed therein has a different configuration which allows rock200 to be used with an active safety device such as camming device 102.The configuration of rock 100 allows both for active and passive safetydevices.

In accordance with the invention and with continued reference to FIGS.10-11, rock 100 is a rigid and substantially solid structure or bodydefining a centrally vertically elongated recess 104 which extends froma top 106 of rock 100 to a bottom 108 of rock 100. Top 106 and bottom108 are substantially horizontal and parallel to one another. Rock 100has a front 110 and back 112 which are substantially vertical andparallel to one another. Rock 100 has first and second sides 114 and 116taper inwardly and downwardly in the same manner as sides 30 and 32 ofrock 10. Each of top 106, bottom 108, front 110, back 112, first side114 and second side 116 are substantially flat surfaces.

Recess 104 includes three sections which are vertically oriented withrespect to one another. In particular, recess 104 includes a taperedupper section 118, a vertically parallel intermediate section 120 and atapered lower section 122. More particularly, upper section 118 hasfirst and second lateral surfaces 124 and 126 which taper downwardly andinwardly with respect to a first vertical plane 128 disposedtherebetween. Rock 100 is bilaterally symmetrical about plane 128.Lateral surfaces 124 and 126 extend from top 106 of rock 100 downwardlyto respective first and second intersection locations 130 and 132 whichdefine the bottom of upper section 118 and the top of intermediatesection 120. Upper section 118 has a vertical height HI extending fromtop 106 of rock 100 to intersection locations 130 and 132.

Intermediate section 120 has first and second opposed lateral surfaces134 and 136 which are parallel to one another and vertical plane 128.First and second lateral surfaces 134 and 136 of intermediate section120 define therebetween a width W5. Lateral surfaces 134 and 136 extenddownwardly respectively from first and second intersection locations 130and 132 to a lower end of intermediate section 120 at first and secondintersection locations 138 and 140 which define the bottom ofintermediate section 120 and the top of lower section 122 of recess 104.Intermediate section 120 has a vertical height H2 defined betweenintersection locations 130 and 132 at the top of section 120 tointersection locations 138 and 140 at the bottom of intermediate section120.

Tapered lower section 122 of recess 104 has first and second opposedlateral surfaces 142 and 144 which taper inwardly and downwardly withrespect to plane 128 from intersection locations 138 and 140 to bottom108 of rock 100. Lower section 122 has a vertical height H3 definedbetween intersection locations 138 and 140 at the top thereof to bottom108 of rock 100. Although the heights HI, H2 and H3 may vary, they areall the same in the present embodiment so that upper section 118 extendsfrom top 106 of rock 100 one-third of the way down to bottom 108,intermediate section 120 extends from one-third of the way down totwo-thirds of the way down to bottom 108 and lower section 122 extendsfrom two-thirds of the way down to bottom 108 of rock 100. Thus, each ofsections 118, 120 and 122 represent a respective one-third of the heightof rock 100.

It is further noted that the respective lateral surfaces of uppersection 118 and lower section 122 are substantially flat and are angledin a manner similar to lateral surfaces 42 and 44 of artificial rock 10.Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the angle between the respective lateralsurfaces of sections 118 and 122 is represented at “A” and the anglebetween vertical plane 128 and each of the lateral surfaces of therespective sections 118 and 122 is represented by “B”. Angles A and Bhave the same preferred measurements as with recess 20 of rock 10.

Rock 100 further includes a rear surface 146 which bounds the rear ofrecess 104. Rear surface 146 is substantially flat and tapers downwardlyand forwardly with respect to a second vertical plane 148 perpendicularto first vertical plane 128, as described with regard to rear surface 46of recess 20 of rock 10, as indicated at C in FIG. 11. At bottom 108 ofrock 100, recess 104 has a depth D2 (FIG. 13) extending from front 110of rock 100 to rear surface 146 thereof. Depth D2 of rock 100 is greaterthan depth D1 (FIG. 5) of rock 10.

Rock 100 may be thought of as having a pair of lateral walls 150A and150B analogous to walls 50A and 50B of rock 10. Thus, lateral walls 150Aand 150B are spaced from one another and separated by recess 104 of rock100. Lateral wall 150A includes lateral surfaces 124, 134 and 142 ofrespective sections 118, 120 and 122 of recess 104. Lateral wall 150Blikewise includes lateral surfaces 126, 136 and 144 of recess 104.Lateral walls 150A and 150B each define a counterbore mounting hole 154analogous to mounting holes 36 and having the same configuration.Lateral walls 150A and 150B are joined by a rear bridge 152 whichincludes rear surface 146. Similar to rear bridge 52 of rock 10, rearbridge 152 is thicker adjacent bottom 108 of rock 100 than it isadjacent top 106 of rock 100. One distinction of recess 104 with respectto recess 20 of rock 10 is that recess 104 at bottom 108 of rock 100 isdeeper than is recess 20 adjacent bottom 24 of rock 10. This distinctionrelates to the use of camming device 102, which has a greater depthdimension which passes through the opening of recess 104 adjacent bottom108 of rock 100. Thus, this increased depth dimension accommodates thedepth of camming device 102 sufficiently to help prevent device 102 frompulling forward and out of recess 104, as described with regard to piton56 and recess 20 of rock 10.

In use, rock 100 is mounted on climbing wall 12 in the same manner asdescribed with reference to rock 10. Upper section 118 and lower section122 of recess 104 are configured for use with passive safety devicessuch as a piton as described with reference to rock 10. However, aspreviously noted, rock 100 is also configured for use with active safetydevices such as camming device 102. With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, aclimber may use support equipment 156, including camming device 102, inconjunction with artificial rock 100. Climbing support equipment 156further includes a carabiner 60 connected by a connecting strap 64 tocamming device 102.

Camming devices 102 includes a frame 158 with a plurality of cammingmembers 160 pivotally mounted thereon adjacent an end of frame 158whereby members 160 move as indicated by Arrows D in FIG. 10 betweenopen and closed positions. Camming members 160 are spring biased to theopen position. Adjacent an opposed end of frame 158 from camming members160 is a thumb grip 162. A finger grip 164 is movably mounted on frame158 and actuator cables 166 are connected to finger grip 164 andoperatively connected to camming members 160 whereby movement of fingergrip 164 toward thumb grip 162, as indicated by Arrow E in FIG. 10,pulls actuator cables 166 in the direction of Arrow E to move cammingmembers 160 toward the closed position. Frame 158 includes a U-shapedsupport 168 which strap 64 is mounted in a loop-to-loop fashion onconnector section 170. Carabiner 60 is suspended from strap 64 via aloop-to-loop connection therewith.

To use support equipment 156 with rock 100, camming device 102 isoperated to move camming members 160 toward the closed position so thatcamming members 160 may be inserted into recess 104 within intermediatesection 120 thereof. More particularly, a climber will position a thumbon thumb grip 162 and a finger or fingers on finger grip 164 and squeezeto move camming members 160 toward the closed position. Once cammingmembers 160 are inserted within intermediate section 120 of recess 104,the climber will release his or her grip on thumb grip 162 and fingergrip 164 to allow camming members 160 to move toward the open positiondue to the spring bias thereof. Movement of camming members 160 towardthe open position engages the respective camming members 160 againstlateral surfaces 134 and 136 of intermediate section 120 to hold cammingdevice 102 in place within recess 104. As is well known in the art,downward force on frame 158 of camming device 102 is translated to acamming force which moves or attempts to move camming members 160 towardthe open position, thereby creating a forceful engagement betweencamming members 160 and lateral surfaces 134 and 136.

Device 102 is disposed within recess 104 so that U-shaped support 168 offrame 158 and actuator cables 166 pass through lower section 122 and outof recess 104 at bottom 108 of rock 100. Thumb grip 162 and finger grip164 are disposed below bottom 108 of rock 100 with finger grip 164spaced downwardly therefrom sufficiently to allow the climber to inserta finger in order to operate device 102 from below rock 10. Aspreviously noted, depth D2 of recess 104 adjacent bottom 108 of rock 100is greater than that of recess 20 of rock 10 in order to accommodateframe 158 and actuator cables 166 of device 102. As previously noted,intermediate section 120 has a width W5 (FIG. 11) between lateralsurfaces 134 and 136. Because camming devices similar to device 102 comein a variety of sizes, width W5 may vary to accommodate camming devicesor other active safety devices which are configured to move outwardly toengage lateral surfaces 134 and 136.

Artificial rock 200 (FIGS. 12-13) is similar to rock 100 except thatrock 200 defines a recess 202 rearwardly bound by a rear surface 204which is substantially vertical and parallel to rear 112 of rock 200.Rock 200 thus includes a rear bridge 252, analogous to rear bridge 152of rock 100, which has a constant thickness T4 (FIG. 13) from top 106 tobottom 108 of rock 200. Artificial rock 200 has a pair of spaced lateralwalls 250A and 250B which are analogous to walls 150A and 150B of rock100. Walls 250A and 250B are similar to walls 150A and 150B except thatthey do not extend back as far adjacent recess 202, especially adjacenttop 106 of rock 200, as do walls 150A and 150B due to the differentconfiguration of rear bridge 252 of rock 200. Thus, recess 202 includesan upper section 218, an intermediate section 220 and a lower section222 which are analogous to sections 118,120 and 122 of recess 104 ofrock 100 and are utilized with the safety devices in the same manner.

It was noted with respect to rock 100 that thumb grip 162 and fingergrip 164 were disposed below bottom 108 of rock 100 with finger grip 164spaced downwardly therefrom sufficiently to allow the climber to inserta finger in order to operate device 102 from below rock 10. However,this is not a requirement, as shown with rock 200 in FIGS. 12-13. Thus,for example, when camming members 160 are disposed within recess 202 ofrock 200, the lower end of camming device 102 may swing from a positionforward of front 110 of rock 200 to a position which is within recess202. Thus, the climber may insert camming members 160 into recess 202while finger grip 164 is disposed in front of rock 200 and once fingergrip 164 is released to engage members 160 with lateral surfaces 134 and136, the climber may move the lower end of device 102 or allow it to bemoved to a position within recess 202 so that it is not necessary forfinger grip 164 to be disposed below rock 200. This insertion processmay be reversed in order to access finger 164 and remove camming device102 from recess 202. Because of this ability to swing camming device 102as described above, finger grip 164 may be disposed within recess 202 orsimilar recesses when in use, as shown in FIGS. 12-13.

Artificial rock 300 is similar to rock 200 except that rock 300 definesa recess 302 which is laterally bound by first and second lateralsurfaces 304 and 306 which are substantially flat and vertical andparallel to one another and vertical plane 128. A substantially flat andvertical rear surface 308 bounds recess 302 rearwardly in the samemanner as rear surface 204 bounds recess 202 of rock 200. Artificialrock 300 includes a pair of spaced lateral walls 350A and 350B analogousto walls 250A and 250B of rock 200. Lateral walls 350A and 350Brespectively include lateral surfaces 304 and 306. Thus, walls 350A and350B vary from walls 250A and 250B with respect to the differentconfiguration of recesses 302 and 202 respectively.

Recess 302 thus has a width W5 (FIG. 14) which is constant from top 106to bottom 108 of rock 300. Thus, rock 300 is configured for use withactive safety devices such as camming member 102 but not for use withpassive safety devices such as pitons 56, 72 and 74. Device 102 isoperated so that camming members 160 engage lateral surfaces 304 and 306of recess 302 in the same manner as described with the previousembodiments wherein device 102 engaged lateral surfaces 134 and 136 ofintermediate section 120 of rock 100 and intermediate section 220 ofrock 300.

Thus, the present invention provides several embodiments of anartificial rock which may be used as a standard artificial rock on aclimbing wall and also with climbing support equipment which provides asafety feature for the climber and allows the climber to practice withsaid equipment. Each of the artificial rocks of the present invention isthus configured to support the weight of the climber using the rock,whether the climber is placing his or her weight on the rock with a handor foot thereon, or via the use of safety devices like those describedherein. While smaller climbers may of course be supported by rocks ofcomparatively lesser strength, the rocks of the present invention shouldeasily support a weight of 200 pounds without breaking or pulling loosefrom the climbing wall. More typically, the present rocks will support300, 400, 500 pounds and often much more in order to ensure safety ofthe climber. The rocks also are configured to support such weights whenapplied via gravity as a sudden downward force via the safety deviceswithin the recess of a respective rock, as is the case when the climberfalls and is caught by the safety equipment suspended from the rock.

It will be evident to one skilled in the art that a variety of changesmay be made which are within the scope of the present invention. Forexample, the overall shape of the body of the artificial rock may bevaried substantially without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus, for instance, the artificial rock may have a body which is shapedmore like a standard artificial rock used with climbing walls to providedifferent gripping surfaces for the hands and feet of the climber whilealso providing the recess therein for use with a piton. In addition, therecess formed in the artificial rock may have a variety ofconfigurations. The surfaces which bound the recess of the embodimentshown in the drawings are all substantially flat and with regard to thetapered recess or sections thereof provide a constant taper, althoughthis is not required. Thus, for instance, lateral surfaces 42 and 44 andrear surface 46 may have angles which vary along the length of therecess from top to bottom. This would include such surfaces being angledor being curved in a convex manner while moving downwardly along therecess. Because a piton seated within the recess may or may not comeinto contact with rear surface 46 or a surface analogous thereto, theparticular angle at which the rear surface tapers is of less concernthan that of the lateral surfaces bounding the recess. Nonetheless, aspreviously noted, the rear bridge of artificial rock 10 must havesufficient structural strength in order to support a climber utilizingrock 10.

It will be appreciated that with artificial rocks such as rocks 100 and200 which include a tapered section and a parallel-side section that thetapered and parallel sections may be disposed at various levels withinthe artificial rock. Thus, an artificial rock may have a parallelsection at the top and a tapered section at the bottom or vice versa. Inaddition, such a rock may include any number of tapered sections andparallel sections which are suitable to the purpose of supporting asafety device therein.

The various recesses may also be formed in a manner to help prevent apiton or other safety device from becoming dislodged therefrom throughthe forward opening portion of the recess. Thus, for instance, thelateral surfaces bounding the recess may angle inwardly and forwardly ina manner that would tend to move the safety device in a rearward mannerwhen seated in the recess. In addition, lips may be formed which extendinwardly respectively from the lateral walls (such as 50A and 50B) alongthe front of the rock to provide a barrier which would prevent a safetydevice from sliding forward and out of the recess. Other variations willbe evident to one skilled in the art.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is anexample and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown ordescribed.

1. An artificial rock for use with a climbing wall, the rock comprising:a first rigid wall having a first lateral surface; a second rigid wallwhich is adjacent to the first wall and which has a second lateralsurface which generally faces the first lateral surface; wherein therock has a back adapted to face the climbing wall when mounted thereon;wherein the first and second lateral surfaces define therebetween aforward opening recess adapted to receive a safety device therein forsupporting climbing equipment; and wherein the rock has sufficientstrength to support a weight of a climber.
 2. The rock of claim 1wherein the recess is wider at a top thereof than at a bottom thereof.3. The rock of claim 1 wherein the recess is deeper at a top thereofthan at a bottom thereof.
 4. The rock of claim 1 wherein the recess hasa top which opens upwardly.
 5. The rock of claim 1 wherein the recesshas a bottom which opens downwardly whereby the bottom of the recess isadapted to allow a portion of the climbing equipment to hang therethrough.
 6. The rock of claim 1 wherein the recess extends from a top ofthe rock to a bottom of the rock.
 7. The rock of claim 1 wherein thelateral surfaces are substantially parallel to one another whereby therock is adapted for use with an active climbing safety device within therecess.
 8. The rock of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the lateralsurfaces taper downwardly and inwardly toward one another.
 9. The rockof claim 8 further including a rigid rear wall having a surface whichbounds the recess.
 10. The rock of claim 9 wherein the surface of therear wall tapers downwardly and forward.
 11. The rock of claim 8 whereinthe recess has a top and a bottom; and wherein the lateral surfacestaper downwardly and inwardly toward one another from the top to thebottom.
 12. The rock of claim 8 wherein at least a portion of thelateral surfaces are substantially parallel to one another.
 13. The rockof claim 8 wherein the lateral surfaces of the at least one portion aresubstantially flat and define an angle therebetween within the range of8.0 to 14.0 degrees.
 14. The rock of claim 8 in combination with a pitonhaving outwardly facing lateral surfaces which taper downwardly andinwardly toward one another; and wherein the at least a portion of thelateral surfaces of the first and second walls tapers downwardly andinwardly at about the same angle as do the lateral surfaces of thepiton.
 15. The rock of claim 1 wherein the first and second walls have afront surface which is substantially flat and substantially verticalwhen the rock is in a mounting position.
 16. The rock of claim 1 furtherincluding a rigid rear wall which extends between and is connected toeach of the first and second walls; and wherein the rear wall has asurface which bounds the recess.
 17. The rock of claim 16 wherein therock has a substantially flat back surface which is adapted to abut theclimbing wall when mounted thereon.
 18. The rock of claim 1 wherein thefirst and second walls are part of an integral one-piece body.
 19. Therock of claim 1 further including a mounting mechanism adapted to mountthe first and second walls on the climbing wall.
 20. The rock of claim19 wherein the mounting mechanism includes at least one threadedfastener which extends through a hole formed in one of the first andsecond walls.